CENTRE-BACK Aidil Zafuan Radzak felt at home when he played his first match of the year for the national team in the 6-0 win over Sri Lanka in a friendly in Bukit Jalil on Saturday.
Aidil, who made his international debut in 2007, first partnered Shahrul Saad in the heart of defence before he paired up with Adam Nor Azlin, who replaced the Perak defender in the 60th minute.
The 32-year-old, who was replaced by Dominic Tan in the 71st minute, had more to say about his team’s impressive front line rather than his performance.
Although it was an impressive win, Aidil knows that the situation will be different when Harimau Malaya take on Vietnam in a pre-World Cup match in Hanoi on Thursday.
“I see that there’s a difference to our attack. We are faster and at the same time confident and patient in decision making.
“There are improvements but also negatives that we have to work on.
“We cannot be too comfortable with the result against Sri Lanka.
“We cannot assume it will go the same way in the next match.
“But the win today (Saturday) is good for confidence and momentum ahead of the pre-World Cup match.
“Our target against Vietnam is to avoid defeat. It is never easy playing away from home.
“Against Vietnam, we must try to score an early goal. As a defender, I just have to make sure we do not concede,” said Aidil on Saturday.